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Plate Tectonics Gets Squishy

July 9, 2004

Two reports on plate tectonics this week make it seem less like “hard” science. Over 30 years ago, plate tectonics theory surprised many by going mainstream. In recent years, however, observations have complicated matters. In the July 8 issue of Nature,1 Norman H. Sleep evaluates a paper in the same issue2 that tackles […]

Early Man

Maybe Neanderthals Were Artists After All

July 8, 2004

Revised dating of human bones near figurines has cast an assumption about early humans into doubt, reports Nature Science Update. Aurignacian artefacts, like horse figurines and other carved images, have long been thought to be telltale indicators of modern man. Vogelherd cave near Ulm, Germany was considered the best example, because sandwiched between modern human […]

Astronomy

Infant Cosmos Was Already Elderly

July 8, 2004

At first, they weren’t sure it was real or they were just seeing things. Now, it’s inescapable. As far back as cosmologists can see, there were already mature galaxies. That’s the thrust of two papers in the July 8 issue of Nature1,2 and a commentary on them by Keck Observatory astronomer Greg Wirth3, who says […]

Cell Biology

Archaea Have Their Own Proofreading Mechanism

July 7, 2004

A team of Yale biochemists investigated a proofreading mechanism in one-celled organisms from the domain Archaea and found it different, but just as effective, as its counterpart in domains Bacteria and Eukarya (the latter including all plants and humans). Their work was published online in PNAS July 6.1 The particular instance involved the […]

Solar System

Titan Shows Its Surface to Cassini

July 6, 2004

Time to Titan their theories; Cassini scientists are both fascinated and puzzled by surface features coming to light from the first encounter July 2 with Saturn’s large atmosphere-shrouded moon Titan. At a news conference July 3, some of the initial findings were unveiled: methane clouds hovering over the south pole, linear dark and light markings […]

Astronomy

Tau Ceti a Star for Life to Avoid

July 6, 2004

Tau Ceti, a star with a dust disk astronomers had hoped might be an example of a planetary system under construction, is more like a war zone. A press release from the Royal Observatory calls it “Asteroid Alley – an Inhospitable Neighbor.” Using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii, the astronomers detected 10 times […]

Dumb Ideas

Domesticated Computer Viruses Demonstrate Adaptive Radiation

July 4, 2004

Lenski and Adami are at it again (see 05/08/2003 headline), attempting to demonstrate Darwinian evolution in the computer with “digital organisms” which they describe as ”domesticated computer viruses” Their digital organisms are small computer programs with logic functions that can reproduce and respond to mutations. They reward the ones that evolve with more resources (CPU […]

Early Man

Another Hominid Find Rocks the Charts

July 3, 2004

Another hominid skull dubbed OL 45500 has been reported in Science,1 a juvenile said to belong to Homo erectus. Its classification is problematic because it exhibits a mosaic of features rather than fitting neatly into an evolutionary sequence. The scientists state, “Although the cranium represents possibly the smallest adult or near-adult known between 1.7 and […]

Uncategorized

Ernst Mayr Recounts 20th Century Evolution Battles

July 2, 2004

apostle of Darwinian evolution, Ernst Mayr, turned 100 recently. His mind still sharp, he recounted in the July 2 issue of Science1 the battles that led to “Neo-Darwinism” in the 1940s. Surprising though it may be to some, there was no consensus on speciation, natural selection and other key evolutionary concepts for eighty years since […]

Solar System

Cassini Watches Explosion in Saturns E Ring

July 2, 2004

Something strange happened in the E ring of Saturn last January. The incident is forcing scientists to conclude the ring cannot be very old. The E ring is the broad, extended ring that extends from Mimas to Rhea (click here for diagram), over three times as broad as the main ring system but […]

Physical Science

Saturn Runs Rings Around Cassini

July 1, 2004

“Shocked” was how Carolyn Porco, lead Cassini imaging scientist, described her initial reaction to new pictures of Saturn’s rings. Precious images began to pour in early July 1 from science observations right after the previous night’s perfect orbit insertion maneuver (see 06/30/2004 headline). Even though the imaging team had been confident in the capabilities of […]

Cell Biology

Cell Technology Celebrated

July 1, 2004

Humans are just beginning to imitate the manufacturing techniques cells use all the time, right under our noses. A book just came out about the subject, entitled Bionanotechnology: Lessons from Nature by David S. Goodsell. It’s hard to tell if Christof M. Niemeyer was more impressed with the book or with the living machines themselves, […]

Physics

Cassini to Rewrite Textbooks on Saturn

June 30, 2004

Hundreds of scientists and engineers are waiting with eager anticipation for SOI: Saturn Orbit Insertion, as the schoolbus-sized Cassini spacecraft races for its closest approach to the ringed planet tonight. Just before closest approach, Cassini will fire its main engine for 96 minutes to slow down the spacecraft and allow Saturn to capture it in […]

Human Body

Babies Walk in the Womb

June 29, 2004

New vivid ultrasound imaging technologies reveal a nursery of activity inside the womb, reports the BBC News. Click the link to see the amazingly clear pictures. Unborn babies have been observed stretching, kicking and leaping from 12 weeks, before the mother is aware, and “From 26 weeks, they appear to exhibit a whole range of […]